NSERC/ESS Geo-mapping for Energy and Minerals Program

Objective

This Geo-mapping for Energy and Minerals Program is co-funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and Natural Resources Canada’s (NRCAN) Earth Sciences Sector (ESS) in collaboration with one or more industrial sponsors. Canadian academic researchers may receive funds to investigate the specific research areas that support the objectives of the ESS  GEM program. The ESS GEM program focuses mainly on mapping the Arctic with modern geological methods and standards to identify the potential for energy and mineral resources in aid of northern economic development.

Research Priority Areas

NSERC and ESS will fund research projects in the following specific ESS GEM priority research areas:

Gold Research

Objective: To enhance Canada's capacity in geological and metallogenic research to directly contribute to the development of integrated models of the geological setting of gold districts, with a focus on emerging gold camps, in order to increase the effectiveness of gold exploration in northern Canada.

Basic requirement: A proven track record in geological and metallogenic research specific to gold deposits, including successful interaction with the gold exploration industry, as well as direct access to appropriate personnel, resources and facilities.

Diamond Research

Objective: To enhance Canada's capacity in microchemical and geophysical research to directly contribute to the development of integrated models of the lithosphere that will inform and guide diamond exploration in northern Canada, especially in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.

Basic requirement: A proven track record in geochemistry, isotope geology, geochronology, petrology and geophysics specific to diamonds, including successful interaction with the diamond exploration industry, as well as direct access to appropriate sample suites, resources, personnel and facilities.

Uranium Research

Objective: To enhance Canada's capacity in geological and metallogenic research to directly contribute to the development of integrated models of uranium deposits, with emphasis on the structural and temporal framework of the seismic pumping of uranium-rich fluids, that will inform and guide uranium exploration in northern Canada, especially in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.

Basic requirement: A proven track record in geological and metallogenic research specific to uranium deposits, including successful interaction with the uranium exploration industry, as well as direct access to appropriate personnel, resources and facilities.

Thermochronology Research

Objective: To enhance Canada's capacity in the development and application of thermochronological methods and techniques to directly contribute to the development of integrated models of sedimentary basin development and evolution that will inform and guide hydrocarbon exploration in northern Canada, especially in the three territories.

Basic requirement: A proven track record in thermochronology as applied to sedimentary basins and petroleum systems, as well as access to appropriate personnel, resources and facilities.

Expected Results

It is expected that this program will:

• generate new knowledge/technology with the strong potential to strengthen, inform and guide Canada’s minerals and energy exploration industries;
• increase the number of highly qualified personnel in the priority areas;
• foster the involvement of the Canadian-based minerals and energy exploration industries in academic research; and
• enable the transfer of knowledge/technology and expertise to Canadian industries that are well positioned to apply the results to maintain and enhance the prosperity of Canadians, especially in the North.

Program Requirements

To be funded, a project must meet the following ESS GEM program requirements:

• be conducted by a team of academic researchers (two to five) from one or more universities;
• contain well-defined objectives, which ensure that the results will be achievable within a maximum of three years;
• have a clear plan to direct, manage and integrate the activities within the project, and transfer the results to industry, and;
• demonstrate an integrated approach to the research problem that fully exploits the research facilities and resources available at government and industrial laboratories, and universities.

Industrial Participation

Each project must have at least one industrial partner supporting it. The industry must collaborate in all stages of the research project, i.e., help in the development of the proposal and, as the project unfolds, interact regularly with the academic researchers, students and other research personnel, and provide cash and in-kind support to the project.

The project may also include other participants from industrial or government research laboratories and/or foreign research institutions.

Given that the interaction between personnel from academic institutions and other sectors contributes to knowledge sharing and the development of highly qualified personnel, the program encourages secondments, cross-appointments, co-supervision of students, internship, reciprocal laboratory visits and joint workshops. (For details, see the Policy and Guidelines on the Assessment of Contributions to Research and Training.)

NSERC's Policy on Intellectual Property supports the premise that every effort should be made to exploit the results of NSERC-funded research in Canada, for the benefit of Canadians. For most projects, a copy of the final and signed research agreement between the industrial partner and the university is reviewed by NSERC to ensure that it conforms to the NSERC IP Policy.

Budget

NSERC and ESS will each invest a maximum of $1.2 million during the 2009-10 to 2012-13 fiscal years, to fund the ESS GEM Program. Individual project budget reference levels will be determined on a project by project basis. At least one industrial partner is required. The industrial partner(s) must provide at least 20 percent of the total project costs in cash and an equivalent amount of in-kind support, e.g., access to expert personnel, equipment and facilities, support for field work. Total costs to which NSERC and ESS will contribute shall not exceed a maximum of $100,000 per year available per project, including the minimum required cash participation by the industry partner(s). The length of the project can be a maximum of three years.

Applicants should be aware that because NSERC and ESS employ different mechanisms to transfer funding to successful proponents under this Program, each institution will provide separate payments, and ESS funds will be transferred under the auspices of subsequently negotiated agreement(s) governed by NRCan’s Class Grants and Contribution Authority.

Application Procedures

Letter of Intent (LOI)

A LOI must be submitted to the ESS GEM Portfolio Committee. LOI instructions are located at  NRCan/ESS GEM Letter of Intent. The Portfolio Committee will evaluate all LOIs for fit to the ESS GEM research priority areas and the program requirements.

Full application

Based on the ESS GEM Portfolio Committee’s assessment of the LOI, proponents will be invited to submit a full application to NSERC. Applications will be due two months after the invitation date.

A complete application includes: 

• the invitation letter from the ESS GEM Portfolio Committee;
• an Application for a Grant (Form 101);
• a Personal Data Form (Form 100) for each applicant and co-applicant;
• a letter from the industrial sponsor(s) clearly indicating the monetary and in-kind support they will provide to the project, and a Form 183A;
• other participating industry or government groups that are integral to the project should also provide letters of support clearly stating their level of involvement and any resource commitment.

Please refer to the instructions for completing a CRD application.

Applicants who require new equipment to conduct the research must incorporate their request for equipment into the research proposal and justify the need for the equipment to conduct the research. Separate equipment requests will not be accepted.

Full Application Review Procedures

1. NSERC receives all invited and qualified proposals and sends them to at least three external reviewers.
2. An NSERC program officer compiles and synthesizes the reviewers’ comments and submits them, with initial funding recommendations, to the NSERC/ESS GEM Review Committee for a final funding recommendation.
3. NSERC notifies the applicants, ESS and the industrial partner(s) of the funding decision and the start date of the approved project.

The complete review process will take up to two months.

Selection Criteria

Applications are evaluated according to the following criteria. The Benefit to Canada criterion is imperative. All other criteria are given equal weight in the evaluation.

• Benefit to Canada: The proposal should indicate how the research results will be integrated into the ESS GEM program and contribute toward achieving its outcomes, as stated in its  Logic Model.
• Scientific merit: The project must be scientifically sound, technically feasible and promise either to generate new knowledge or to apply existing knowledge in an innovative manner. It must fall within a specific research priority area.
• Research competence: The applicant and the research team together must have all the expertise required to address the defined objectives competently and to complete the project successfully. Academic expertise may be complemented with the know-how residing in the partnering organizations.
• Contribution to the training of highly qualified personnel: The proposal should indicate how the knowledge and experience gained by students, postdoctoral fellows, research assistants or others, including industrial personnel, are relevant to the advancement of the field, to developing practical applications of knowledge, or to strengthening the industrial research base. The number of undergraduate and graduate students trained is expected to be commensurate with the size of the project.
• Industrial relevance: The proposal must identify how the work will benefit the mineral and energy exploration industries.

Private-sector support: Industry must contribute at least 20 percent of the cash required to complete the project and an equivalent amount of in-kind support. In addition, industry must be in a position to exploit successful research results.

Reporting Requirements

Progress Reports

Progress toward stated project goals will be monitored through annual progress reports. The NSERC/ESS GEM Review Committee and the industrial partners will be asked to provide comments on the project's progress. Final reports are required for all projects.

Financial Reports

Proponents must provide annual statements of actual expenditures and of anticipated future costs. The amounts of subsequent instalments are contingent on a demonstrated need for program funds, and subsequent instalments will not be released until all reporting requirements are fulfilled.

Based on the results obtained or problems encountered, project proponents may propose amendments to the project objectives, milestones or budget.

Program Contacts

NSERC

Theresa Anderson
Account Manager
Environment and Natural Resources Division
350 Albert Street
Ottawa, Ontario  K1A 1H5
Phone: 613-943-7830
Fax: 613-947-6371
E-mail: theresa.anderson@nserc-crsng.gc.ca

ESS

Simon Hanmer
GEM Coordinator
Earth Sciences Sector
Rm. 665, 601 Booth Street
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0E8
Phone: 613-992-4704
Fax: 613-943-0843
E-mail: shanmer@nrcan-rncan.gc.ca